About Us

Saving the Survivors was founded in 2012 by Dr Johan Marais to attend to injured endangered wildlife that have fallen victim to poaching or traumatic incidents. Whilst we will attend to the needs of any injured animal, most of our efforts have been directed at rhino due to the vicious attacks that many of them have fallen victim to.

Due to the escalation in poaching and snaring incidents, the number of victims is rapidly increasing. Fortunately many injured animals have been given a second chance after undergoing various interventions and surgical procedures performed by our team. Most of these animals are treated in their natural habitat as transporting injured wildlife increases the risk and trauma they experience.

Every case we encounter is unique and tests our teams’ resolve. We are very fortunate to collaborate with world-renowned clinical specialists and conservation groups, and we are very grateful for the unwavering support of the public.

Veterinarians: Dr. Johan Marais. {Associate vet: Dr. Gary Bauer}

Board of Directors: Paul Naden, Dr. Johan Marais, Tristan Wood, Lisa Norgren, Dov Black & Tony Nicholls

RSA Directors: Dr. Johan Marais, Paul Naden & David Mabunda

USA Directors: Dr. Johan Marais, Paul Naden, Tristan Wood & Ken Ransford

Program Managers: Tara Naden {UK & USA} Wilma Moon {RSA}

Volunteer Manager: Susan McCabe

Official Ambassador: Lisa Lavender

RSA NPC No: 2015/348516/08
RSA PBO No: 930052026
UK Charity Number: 1165070
USA 501c3 registered charity: 83-3617056 {Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law}

Saving the Survivors has been awarded multiple conservation awards including:

  • Rhino Conservation Awards 2014 – Winner in the category Best Science, Research and Technology
  • SA National Parks Inaugural Kudu Awards 2015 – Winner in the Professional Stakeholders category
  • Rhino Conservation Awards 2015 – Runner-up in the category Best Science, Research and Technology
  • Enviropaedia Eco-Logic Awards 2017 – Eco-Angel Bronze Award

Why we do, what we do